Privacy Policy
Introduction
Mind-Over-Matter Counselling understands how important your privacy is and has taken the measures necessary to maintain your confidentiality in accordance with current data protection laws. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, 2018) and the ethical guidelines of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) enforce standards which protect your confidential data and ensures that your counsellor always conducts themselves with professionalism and integrity.
To provide you with the best service possible, I will hold your personal contact details and records of your therapy sessions. Please find below detailed information about how this information will be held and used.
Your Personal Information
At the point of booking your initial appointment/consultation with me, I will complete an assessment form, where I will ask for your personal contact information. This includes: your name, address, email address, and telephone number as well as details of the issues you are looking for help with. If we agree to work together, I will then ask for the following: date of birth, contact information for your GP, any medications you are taking that may affect counselling, and an elected Emergency Contact.
All your information are stored securely on an encrypted, password protected hard-drive only accessible by me.
This personal information will be held for the duration of your counselling after which it will be held for seven years. Please note that I will need to keep these records for seven years after the end of your therapy, so that I can respond effectively to any potential requests regarding your clinical notes and treatment.
If there are any safeguarding issues raised in your therapy these notes will be kept for seventy-five years.
I will never pass on your contact details to any third-party organisations for the purposes of sales, marketing or research and will never use your personal data for any purposes other than the administration of the counselling service I are providing to you i.e. to arrange, cancel and rearrange appointments and collect payment for sessions.
If you ask me to refer you to another organisation for further support, I will share with that organisation your assessment form. I will inform you of this.
Data Usage
I will only use your email address and telephone number to contact you about your appointments. I may also contact you directly via email in order to share information with you that is pertinent to your therapeutic process. Your phone number and email address will also be used to issue appointment reminders via text message and email.
Your Therapy Sessions
Everything that you discuss in our sessions is confidential.
Your counsellor may have to pass on any information in the following cases:
1. If you threaten to cause significant harm to yourself or to another person.
2. If I believe a child or protected adult is at risk of harm or abuse.
3. If the courts instruct me to give information.
4. If you share information about a proposed act of terrorism, money laundering, human trafficking, or drug trafficking.
I will always endeavour to speak to you about this first.
I will also keep notes of each session which are anonymised and only high-level information. These notes are for my use as your counsellor only and help them to keep a track of everything that is being discussed. My notes do not identify you by name.
In line with industry guidelines, these notes must be kept securely for seven years after your therapy comes to an end. After this time, they will be confidentially destroyed.
If your sessions are paid for or arranged via a third party, (e.g. your employer, a friend, or a family member), other than payment requests, invoices or receipts, your counselling information will not be shared.
Communications
My email account uses private, secure Fast Mail servers. If you send an email to my email address, only I will have access to it. My phone and laptop used to respond to your emails are encrypted, and password protected.
Raising Concerns
Should you have any concerns about my data protection practices, you can raise these directly with me. You can also notify the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Breaches Of Data Protection
In the event of any breach of my data protection policies, I will notify you and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) within 72 hours and will seek to rectify this immediately.
Your Rights
Any personal data retained by me as your counsellor is kept in accordance with the GDPR, 2018.
Under these guidelines you have the following rights:
1. The right to request access to your data
You can request to view the information that I hold about you (contact details, appointment logs etc.) at any time. If during therapy you would like to see your session notes, please make this request directly.
Should you require a copy of your notes after your therapy has come to an end you can make this request by emailing contact@mind-over-matter.co.uk or calling me directly on 07490016495.
2. The right of rectification
At any point during your time at Mind-Over-Matter Counselling, or during the seven years thereafter, while I retain your records, you have the right to request amendments to your contact details or session notes. This right can be exercised by speaking directly to myself.
3. The right to be forgotten
You can request that I delete and confidentially destroy the information that I hold about you and your sessions at any time. This request can be made by contacting the management team. I will destroy any identifying details I hold about you, such as name address etc. I have to keep your client notes for 7 years or 75 years if any safeguarding issues are mentioned in your sessions.
Instances where I would not be able to comply with your request are as follows:
a) It is necessary for me to retain these records in order to continue providing an effective service
b) I am compelled to retain these records by a Court of Law
c) I require these records in order to establish, exercise or defend legal claims
Consent
At the end of your initial consultation/first appointment, you will be asked to sign a consent form stating that you understand and agree to my terms and conditions and the privacy agreement outlined above. In doing so you give Mind-Over-Matter Counselling permission to store, access, and use your personal contact details and session notes within the legitimate remit of providing a counselling service to you. You are entitled to withdraw this consent at any time and can do so by emailing contact@mind-over-matter.co.uk
Date last revised: 25/04/25